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Amazon ( AMZN ) agreed $180 million deal to buy carbon credits

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Para government says deal will be finalised after

consultations

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Indigenous peoples said they were not properly consulted

By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The government of the

Brazilian state of Para in the Amazon ( AMZN ) will consult Indigenous

communities on how they will benefit from the future sale of

carbon offset credits that U.S. companies have agreed to buy to

try to protect the rainforest.

In a statement received by Reuters on Monday, the Para

government's environmental secretariat Semas said it "will begin

a new phase of dialogue" with Indigenous peoples and other

traditional communities in the rainforest.

Scientists say preserving the Amazon ( AMZN ) rainforest is vital to

combating global warming.

Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN ) and a group of companies agreed last

month in New York to buy carbon credits in a deal valued at $180

million through the LEAF Coalition conservation initiative,

which it helped set up in 2021 with other firms and governments,

including the United States and United Kingdom.

At the time, Para Governor Helder Barbalho said the deal had

the participation of Indigenous peoples and other traditional

communities. But last week, 38 Indigenous and community

organizations signed a public letter saying they had not been

consulted properly.

"The transaction with the LEAF Coalition will be finalized

in 2025, after the conclusion of this collective construction

process," the Para government statement said.

A series of high-profile controversies has shaken confidence

in the market for carbon offsets, with several large companies

that buy carbon credits retreating from it after studies found

that large forest protection projects failed to deliver their

promised emission reductions.

Emergent, the non-profit coordinator of the LEAF Coalition,

said consultations had yet to begin in Para on the LEAF

agreement, which involves a forward purchase and no credits will

be transacted until after the consultation process.

"We have full confidence that Para is developing a REDD+

system with the active participation of a wide variety of

communities and beneficiaries that play an active role in

reducing deforestation," a spokesperson for Emergent said.

REDD+ is a climate change mitigation strategy that aims to

reduce greenhouse gas emissions by slowing, stopping, and

reversing deforestation.

The communities include Indigenous peoples, descendants of

escaped slaves known as quilombolas and family farmers.

Emergent said it understood the government-led consultations

would include over 30 workshops across the state.

One Indigenous organization that is actively involved in

promoting the consultations is the Federation of Indigenous

Peoples of Para (FEPIPA), which is urging Indigenous communities

to participate.

FEPIPA leader Concita Sompré said the sale of carbon credits

was the right solution for Indigenous communities, though they

"do not feel fully informed," she said in a statement, and

consultations must explain how the benefits will be shared.

"In the benefit-sharing agreement, we indigenous people

will, together with the other beneficiaries who live in the

state, agree on how much each part will receive," she said.